More than seven hundred students test positive for coronavirus at Northumbria University

[sl8]

https://www.itv.com/news/tyne-tees/2020-10-02/hundreds-of-students-reportedly-self-isolating-at-northumbria-university-and-the-university-of-newcastle
(video at link)

More than seven hundred students test positive for coronavirus at Northumbria University

Friday 2 October 2020, 11:13pm

Video report by ITV News Health Editor Emily Morgan

Northumbria University say they are aware of 770 of their students who have tested positive for COVID-19 of whom 78 are symptomatic. These students are all now self-isolating, as are their flatmates and any close contacts.

At Newcastle University, 94 students and 7 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.

Both Northumbria, and Newcastle University say their 'COVID response teams' are working to get in touch with anyone who may have been in contact with the students, and say:

"We are supporting all those students who are self-isolating, providing them with food and other essential items, as well as welfare support including 24/7 online mental health support and one-to-one support from our wellbeing teams where required which is accessible through multiple channels."

[...]

[T_i_B]

1. Also got an outbreak at Sheffield University

Which is highly likely to send Sheffield into a local lockdown.

Before people start scapegoating students they really should try living in student digs for themselves. It's exactly the sort of environment where you can't help being in close proximity with others and where an extremely contagious virus could spread very easily.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. One of 3 to stop face-to-face teaching

With Manchester among the worst-hit parts of the country, both the University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) said they would stop classes and seminars, except for a handful of specialist courses, and move to online teaching until at least the end of October.

“Manchester’s universities are moving online to manage outbreaks that could have been prevented had they listened to us sooner,” said Martyn Moss, a regional officer for the University and College Union (UCU), which called 10 days ago for all university classes to be held online.

The University of Sheffield, which reported nearly 600 confirmed cases among students and staff, also said it would stop face-to-face teaching other than for clinical courses until 19 October.

“We will use this transition period to put in place additional risk-mitigation measures that will allow for the resumption of face-to-face teaching,” Sheffield’s vice-chancellor, Koen Lamberts, said in an email to staff.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2020/oct/06/covid-three-universities-halt-face-to-face-teaching-as-uk-strategy-unravels

[T_i_B]

3. I'm now in level 2 lockdown...

Along with the rest of South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Glossop. The area of Sheffield where I grew up is one of the worst suburbs in the UK for Coronavirus due to the outbreak at Sheffield University.